CMUQ Team Wins Top Prize in Business Training Program

Twenty students from universities
across Doha have competed in Quick Startup 2014, a business training
programme launched this year by Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar
(CMUQ).

The programme coaches budding entrepreneurs as
they develop a concept into a business plan and present an investor
pitch to a panel of industry experts in just 72 hours.

Memzy, an application-based startup comprising
Carnegie Mellon students, took home the first prize. It was followed by
Tarweej, a startup aimed at helping high-school students choose a
university and fill out application forms. Qatar Arabian Theme Park, a
venture to set up the region’s first theme park, came third.

The winning team, Memzy, developed a business
plan for a social platform mobile application and was keen to have
seasoned professionals analyse its venture before moving forward.

“We signed up for Quick Startup because we
wanted to understand the process of how you start a venture. More
importantly, having a panel of judges with industry experience was the
perfect opportunity for us to gather feedback,” said winning team member
Afrah Hassan, an information systems senior at Carnegie Mellon.

The six participating teams that competed over
the weekend included students from CMUQ, Qatar University (QU), College
of the North Atlantic – Qatar (CNA-Q), Weill Cornell Medical College in
Qatar, Texas A&M University at Qatar and the Gulf English School.

The Carnegie Mellon Qatar programme contributes
to the country’s increasing focus on developing a culture of
entrepreneurship. Thomas Emerson, distinguished career professor of
entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon Qatar, said: “Many students aspire
to become entrepreneurs once they graduate and Carnegie Mellon Qatar is
dedicated to providing them with the necessary support and advice. Along
with our university entrepreneurship department, there are also
organisations around the country such as Silatech, Bedaya Centre and
Enterprise Qatar available to provide support,” he added.

Industry experts participated on the judging
panel and as mentors, imparting their knowledge to the students.
Participants were classified based on their potential profits,
feasibility and market research.

Dave Mawhinney, co-director of the Carnegie
Mellon University Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurship and
executive director of the Donald H Jones Centre for Entrepreneurship,
said: “Through this programme, we provide an immersive experience for
budding entrepreneurs to dip into the realm of entrepreneurship, meet
potential customers, validate and debate ideas with teammates,
culminating in a cohesive presentation of their venture...Read more»